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Topic Review (Newest First)

06-08-2016 05:08 AM

Pattern8

I think Seachem might have had VATanks black bagged and renditioned him. Poor guy is probably held up in some cell in Guantanamo. Now we'll never know.

04-05-2016 12:11 PM

Zaki

Greetings..

Three years old thread.. Still interesting..

VATanks.. Are you still there..?
Am -still- Waiting for your analysis on both the Seachem Matrix Vs Pumice..

Have you done the Spectroscopic comparisons ? Material(s) Compositions.. ??

That's one of the most "yes it is but I'm not going to tell you it is" responses I've ever heard lol.

02-06-2016 03:40 PM

Kubla

From the Seachem support forums when asked if Matrix is just cleaned and sterilized pumice.

Quote:

Re: Matrix vs Pumice

This isn’t the first time we’ve been asked this question. The short answer is you know what you are getting with Matrix: it has been tested and proven to work well as a biomedia. We’ve tried to find a better biomedia and so far have been unable to. With garden center pumice, you have no guarantee about whether or not it will support denitrifying bacteria or whether it will affect pH or leach anything into the tank.

So, according to Seachem, Matrix is "specially selected, graded and cleaned pumice"

The only thing I can say for sure is the channels or pores under microscope are very similar.

I would think this would be the important part for it's purpose as biomedia. Even if it isn't exactly pumice, if it is similar enough, then people could probably get similar results using much cheaper horticultural pumice.

02-06-2013 02:43 AM

VAtanks

Unfortunately I am not able to tell, both are silica based but since pumice has such a huge range between 78ish percent all the way to about 89 percent. I can not tell, at this point I couldnt even difinitively say my BBQ grill scrubbers are pumice. and am considering removing them. The only thing I can say for sure is the channels or pores under microscope are very similar. El cheapo microscope though so at this point my two samples are in the hands of a geologist adjunct professor. It was suggested I heat both samples to about 800 degrees and if they flow then they do belong to the glass family of compounds.....but that wouldn't answer is Matrix pumice....

CrypticLifestyle, I will find that answer out for you tomorrow night in my Chemlab class, I will take one piece of Matrix and one BBq scrubber into lab class with me and examine it and hopefully photograph it adnd I will post the findings here, I might be able to get some grad students to chem analize it for us too.

That would be awesome. This has been of much great debate. Some solid scientific answers to a degree will open up some of the mystery.

...my follow on question would be, if this is naturally occuring in nature has it been established in a tank? would seem to me outside of trace elements needing to be refreshed would almost eliminate the need for water changes?

For your second question, it is a very difficult one

Some things that happen in test conditions, do not necessarily happen in nature, and vice versa. On top of that, since nature is not controllable, it makes things even more complicated.

As I mentioned, DNRA is much less common than denitrification. The amounts of ammonia/ammonium being produced would be much less than nitrites/nitrous oxides that would be produced through the denitrification pathway.

So, let's assume that nitrites are being produced; the amount of it being produced would be dependent on the number of facultative aerobic bacteria, which would be in turn based on the amount of anaerobic space there is in the Matrix biomedia (assuming it exists). This surface area would be greatly outmatched by the surface area that exists in aerobic conditions, so nitrification (production of nitrates) would be much more favoured.

With nitrates being produced, water changes will be required (assuming you do not have a planted aquarium whereby plants are uptaking nitrates...).

To my knowledge, in reef aquariums, the production of nitrates is slowed down through the addition/construction of a plenum.

02-05-2013 12:23 AM

VAtanks

Seems its strictly bacterial related only and only in an anaerobic environment specifically pseudomonas and clostridium bacteria. which brings us back to the zero air zone in the matrix, but my follow on question would be, if this is naturally occuring in nature has it been established in a tank? would seem to me outside of trace elements needing to be refreshed would almost eliminate the need for water changes?

02-05-2013 12:13 AM

VAtanks

Physics major/Engineer...so chem baffles me. Is DNRA bacterial related or is it just a natural chemical reaction based on water conditions?